Training Log Archive: PrueD

I felt much better this morning. There is nothing like a good night's sleep. (I no longer say "I love bed" as this can be/has been misconstrued in a major way). I love SLEEP.

I have to clarify that I was not hungover yesterday - just tired. Late nights and I do not get on, and I really can't function if I am tired. I was planning to go to MTBO last night at the You Yangs but it didn't happen.

I walked briskly for an hour around Blackburn this morning. Exercise-wise this week has been a bit of a flop.

I was reminded, when I woke up, why I don't like big nights - and usually only have them about once a year. So I went for a walk around Blackburn followed by some retail therapy.

Last night was a culmination of birthday celebration and RC recovery. I didn't think that the Dept came out looking at all good yesterday, but the hierachy was pleased and the media can't have been listening. I have learnt not to sit behind Counsel Assisting (after a rather embarrassing shot of me in the background on Thursday night's TV). At least I wasn't doing anything too bad a la David Kier (the famous banker).

Was going to go for a run but went out for a drink with people from work after the big day in the RC. Didn't get home until after midnight.

Today was officially designated as an "all cake" and "no exercise" day or, as some might put it, another notch in the overall downhill slide (although that is entirely dependent upon how long I last). Yes, it is Birthday Day.

I had to entertain my sister and husband, elderly mother and her even more elderly boyfriend (nevermind about any friends of mine) inside my tiny 2.8 meter width flat. The cheesecake (made last week and frozen) was consumed.

I have had a number of memorable birthdays - many of which (2003, 2007, 2009) seem to be in the middle of a major bushfire or other disaster and any sort of celebration is out the question.

My most memorable birthday was not on my birthday at all. When I was a school teacher, my supervisor walked into the staffroom with a HUGE cake, with a model girl in a kayak on top. 125 staff started singing and the cake landed in front on me. Unfortunately it wasn't my birthday (several weeks out) but I had to pretend. Anyway, all the students outside were asking "whose birthday is it" ? The next day, every class had a cake for me - "we've made you a cake" they explained - I had 9 classes that day. I love cake - but - even for me, 9 pieces of cake in one day was too much (but I had to eat it all, because each class had made a cake especially). I was nearly sick. My actual birthday went by unnoticed several weeks later.

I share my birthdate with John Travolta and Paris Hilton's birthday was yesterday. I am sure you can see the resemblance.

Street orienteering at South Blackburn tonight. It was a score event and I entered C course (45 mins). Apart from a few pauses, I pretty much ran the whole way and felt reasonably OK.

Its been a fairly tense day - my first full day in the RC. Everything went pretty much as expected, with no great surprises. However you never can tell which way Counsel Assisting will go with their information.

I unfortunately precipitated (another) drama at work. I was reading the Secretary's statement which had been filed with the RC. It had been finalised with nearly every layer in the organisation checking it. However the resources numbers looked wrong to me and I went off to check them. The place went into meltdown, the statement was withdrawn and the database people were sent off to redo their work. Fortunately (for me, as I had taken a big risk in claiming that everybody else was wrong) the numbers were proven to be significantly wrong (26% out) and have now been rectified. Not a good look for our database people. However the Secretary was saved from a potential disaster when he is a witness on Friday.

I forgot to say that, after a morning in the RC listening to a very technical description of a computer risk model, they put a lay witness on. She started with a long and detailed description of the age and characteristics of her pets - "I've got a cat and he's 3 years old and I've had him since a kitten etc etc". The ABC reporters behind me started laughing and I found it quite hard to contain myself. She then announced that she would not leave next time, but stay and defend (despite the fact that all her neighbours died). She didn't know what "native vegetation" was and they had to spell out "gum trees". I think she was put up as an example of a particular segment of society that we might have to deal with in emergencies.

C • emergency planning issues for some people 8

I went for a walk tonight around north Blackburn area. I was feeling quite tired and it became a bit of a contemplative dawdle rather than a full-on power walk.

Tomorrow is the first day of the RC hearings on fuel management. I'll be sitting in there observing every day now for a week. Everyone up to Secretary level was running around in a last minute frenzy today trying to get their facts and figures right. It is a learning experience for me to not take responsibility for everything that is going wrong and to just let nature take its course. It could be an interesting week.

I am enjoying watching the Winter Olympics. I have only 1 or 2 degrees of separation from 3 of the athletes (2 mogel skiiers and 1 XC skiier) - so am watching with interest. I am a former ambidextrous biathlete (can shoot with both a left-handed and a right-handed rifle) and noted, during the opening ceremony, that this attribute was considered to be worthy of mention.

You will be pleased to hear that, while I am a fairly good shot, I have never shot anything that runs around - only targets (I have difficulty with stepping on ants...).

Another yoga session after work. I am really getting into the inverted dog pose (or something like that) and various other poses with faunal names. I also have taken note of the advice to "keep your feet in contact with the ground" (I really hadn't intended to do anything else) and have consequently fallen over less. I forgot to mention over the weekend that I think the yoga has made a significant difference to my flexibility and consequently felt that my running gait has become more free.

I made a major sacrifice today - giving away a helicopter trip to Bright tomorrow to two of the younger staff. I have had many flights in my time but I still enjoy them. It is departmental policy to wear overalls in helicopters - I think the reason is that, when the little eggshell crashes, the bits are easy to sort as they are all held together in the overalls (or so I have been told).